U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Booth Goodwin will resign from his post after 15 years in the office.
Goodwin has served as the U.S. Attorney since May 2010, but previously worked in the office as an assistant U.S. Attorney since 2001.
A news release from his office says Goodwin will return to private practice at the beginning of 2016.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia,” Goodwin said in the release.
“The unparalleled success of this office during my tenure is a tribute to and a result of the extraordinary dedication of the lawyers, staff and law enforcement personnel with whom I have been privileged to serve.”
Goodwin’s tenure has focused on fighting prescription drug use throughout the region, prosecution corruption in southern West Virginia tied to public officials and the coal industry and led the investigation into the 2014 chemical spill in Charleston that left 300,000 people without drinkable water for days.
Perhaps most notably, the office also recently received a conviction on one misdemeanor count against former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, although Blankenship was acquitted of two much more serious charges.
Goodwin has been named as a possible Democratic candidate for governor in the 2016 race. If he enters the race, Goodwin will face a primary against current Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler and coal billionaire and Greenbrier Resort owner Jim Justice.